Latin America is presented as an excellent scenario for the development of the lighting industry, especially in the LED segment, which has been gaining presence over the years, and, thanks to its benefits, has a promising future.
by Santiago Jaramillo H.
As Michael J. Petras, CEO of GE Iluminación, acknowledges, within the expanding economies of Latin America, both the government and private sectors are in search of efficient solutions to face today's energy challenges. Their demand for innovative products, which will help them achieve their environmental and financial goals, has stimulated the development of new technologies. LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) technology is at the forefront of the transformation of the lighting sector.
It also highlights that not all LEDs are the same. Like any new technology, it is essential to be informed about its characteristics, benefits, applications and quality of the systems that use it. One of its most innovative and efficient applications is in the sector of public lighting and lighting of parks and commercial parking lots.
"The adoption of efficient technologies in the public spaces of any city offers tangible benefits for the country and its natural resources. Among the advantages of LED lighting is the effective energy saving of 50% compared to more traditional technologies such as sodium, metal halides or induction. In addition, they offer a long service life, with a duration of 50 thousand hours without replacement of parts. Likewise, LED luminaires generate a white light, with high CRI (color reproduction index) and that can be directed to specific areas, reducing light waste and annoying reflections to drivers, "says Petras.
The CEO of GE Lighting also points out that among the main features of urban lighting systems with LED technology is the GE Evolve - R150 LED Cobrahead luminaire that has an advanced LED optical system capable of providing greater horizontal and vertical uniformity, less glare and better lighting control, compared to traditional metal additive lighting systems. These luminaires won the best-in-class award at the 2010 Next Generation Luminaires (NGL), a competition organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Society for Lighting Engineering and the International Association of Lighting Designers, which recognizes excellence in the design of energy-efficient LED luminaires for general use.
Another fact that must be highlighted are the savings in energy consumption, a situation that translates for governments and commercial establishments into fewer hours of work dedicated to the maintenance and replacement of luminaires.
In that order of ideas, Michael J. Petras points to the example of the municipality of Othón Blanco, in Mexico, which last December announced the saving of 51% in energy consumption, thanks to the replacement of 25 thousand traditional luminaires by GE LED Cobrahead, which is the largest project of public LED luminaires in Latin America.
This project supports the Special Climate Change Program (PECC) 2010-2012 of the Government of Mexico for the mitigation of the impact on the environment, significantly reducing the energy use of the municipality by 29,218,980 million watts per year. Additionally, with this system, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, it means that the municipality will stop emitting an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to taking off the streets the nearly 40,000 cars that circulate there in a period of ten years.
LED, a segment that is strengthened
On the other hand, after being asked about which was the strongest sector in terms of LED lighting and what percentage of sales each one represents in the market that his company serves, Alejandro Gabriel Tombesi, general manager of LED Argentina S.A., said that his company is very successful in the segment of LED lighting with high power white light, whether for industries, shops, offices or buildings.
"Of the 100% of our customers, 10% are distributors of products to retailers, and the remaining 90% is divided into 50% for offices and companies and approximately 40% in the industries sector," he says.
Meanwhile, regarding where the main investments in the LED lighting industry are leaning this year and what the hopes for the future are, our guest based his response, as did the CEO of GE Iluminación, indicating that the highest expectations of the market seem to be placed on public lighting and street signage, that is, the public sector.
"When it comes to technology, we see greater growth in the power of the LEDs used, and higher light performance. We are always attentive to new technologies, and that is why we want to update and train permanently. We believe that we must pay close attention to the emergence of new diodes with yields above 100lm/W, as well as COB and SCOB technology. And for certain types of specific applications, we must not forget OLED technology, when it can generate more light power than the current 30 to 40 lm / W, "says the general manager of LED Argentina S.A.
On the other hand, and highlighting that in the field of technological innovation that will be implemented in the near future and more than 70 years after having launched the famous fluorescent lamps on the market, GE announced the development of the Lumination family of indoor solutions using innovative LED technology with edgelighting. This concept contemplates a complete line of accessories for recessed and suspended use, which will make solid-state lighting a feasible solution for widespread use in applications in both commercial and residential environments.
Lionel Ramirez, President and CEO of GE Lighting for Latin America, said, "When our predecessors at GE Lighting first introduced the fluorescent lighting system to the world, they laid the groundwork for what would become the standard for commercial lighting. Now GE is leading a new stage of solid-state lighting. For nearly a decade, our scientists dreamed of having rooms and spaces fully lit with LEDs, and that will now be our new reality."
Ramírez adds that "we are providing lighting designers and the end user with optical-level control and an ability to create innovative styles that can be adapted to meet their very particular lighting needs and applications. The novelty is that the light can be placed right where it is needed. Some of our commercial customers in Latin America are already adopting these systems," he stresses.
The LED technology and optics of these new systems, as acknowledged by the GE representative, work in parallel to eliminate the intense spots that are frequent with fluorescent options. Each luminaire will provide a uniform and bright light, whether diffuse or directional, in a slim design of clean appearance. The contrast control functionality of GE's new solutions will allow a user to enhance the overall aesthetics of any space.
Alejandro Gabriel Tombesi explains, for his part, that in the market they serve in Argentine territory they have just introduced three products that they hope will be very important.
"On the one hand, we have a new line of DICHROIC LED lamps with powers of 5W and 7W, the latter with the ability to be self-digestible. The second product is a direct replacement LED lamp of halogen lamps type AR111 or Halospot that is given an excellent result and of which customers are amazed by its power and lighting quality. Finally, we are incorporating the third generation of our T8 LED tubes, which have better light performance and a higher beam angle."
However, Tombesi states that "the market is still very virgin in terms of the penetration of LED lighting technology and we know that there are huge opportunities for expansion. Therefore, we seek to differentiate ourselves by offering the best quality/price ratio and a three-year warranty on all our products against manufacturing defects, which is unprecedented in the market".
Balance sheet time
Something that our guests recognize is undoubtedly that the Latin American industry is still developing. Precisely in this sense, the manager of LED Argentina S.A. believes that since there is no semiconductor factory that can manufacture the chips and LED diodes used in the region, we are condemned to depend on what the large exporters of the industry can offer us, such as CREE, Nichia, Lumileds, etc.
"Companies looking to assemble LED luminaires and fixtures are beginning to appear in the region, but the pace of business growth depends a lot on the size of each of the markets and also on the quality that can be offered in the finished product. All these parameters, in our opinion, indicate that there is an enormous regional potential for this technology, which will continue to grow as the market advances and also from the appearance of a greater commitment from the governments of the region if they decide to promote clean, green and energy-efficient technologies, of which LED lighting technology is the most distinguished representative", Clarifies.
Meanwhile, the CEO of GE Lighting says his company has seen double-digit growth in everything that relates to its efficient lighting solutions. Not surprisingly, GE has been in the lighting market for 130 years and has contributed significantly to the development of new technologies and high quality standards of products in this segment.
As for how representative the Latin American LED market is in relation to the international concert, Tombesi concludes that "although there is no reliable official data, we understand that the same relationship that exists between Latin America and the World can be applied in other high-tech sectors. That is, the LED technology market in Latin America should be between 10 and 12% of the total global market. What we should expect, as has already happened with other areas, is that the speed of growth and acceptance of this technology in the region begins to accelerate when in other markets the growth slope is a little lower."
For his part, Petras assures that all new technology goes through an acceptance curve at the beginning and, although LED technology is not new, its application in several segments, such as public and residential lighting is quite recent. The transition to LED technology will take place in the medium and long term as more customers see their benefits and return on investment. Globally, it is estimated that in 10 years 40% of all lighting will be LED. Latin American countries are more open to testing new technologies and therefore this transition will be able to move forward quickly.
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